Leaving cost completely aside (i.e. this is not an “Are they worth it?” question or “Should I get PC or ?” question or an “Are drills just as useful as PC?” question), would EVERY triathlete want PC on their Computrainer to train?
I’ve read tons of ST posts on PC and seen all the debates, and understand why folks may not want to race with them and why you might choose to spend your money on other things. But if the PC are going on a dedicated computrainer bike (I think it’s rusted into the CT by now), aren’t they a no-brainer?
That is: what, if any, are the downsides of training with PC?
P.S. Given how quickly Frank responded, (and having read the last 3 years worth of PC posts here), I also feel obliged to say that neither Frank nor Andrew put me up to this question!!
Absolutely. But I’d say take that bike out and ride it a bit as well. No question in my mind that PCs have made me stronger, and I haven’t been training nearly as diligently as in prior years and yet my bike split at 101 was about the same speed I’ve done on fast HIM courses, plus I’m running better.
PCs on a CT are a great combination.
My take is if you are serious and money is not an issue, put them on all of your bikes and ride nothing else until race day when you swap out to your much lighter and better looking cranks.
seems like the detractors have gone into hibernation
No, they are still there, I am quite certain, and not in hibernation but reading everything. Wait until another user comes out and makes another specific claim that gets everyone’s attention. Not sure we will see them call him a liar again but they will denigrate it somehow. They are out there but I suspect they are trying to avoid the 500 post threads as they are coming to the realization that their objections seem to help sales more than they hurt them. Must dirve them nuts.
“They are out there but I suspect they are trying to avoid the 500 post threads as they are coming to the realization that their objections seem to help sales more than they hurt them. Must dirve them nuts. :-)”
There’s just no point in arguing when everyone already knows you can’t justify the claims you make.
I don’t care whether the Powercranks guys can justify all the claims they make. I want someone to point to me ANY reason (other than the cost) I shouldn’t train with a pair.
Never used them, would like to try them, but a downside is that they may cause injury by overworking little used muscles. Aso if they are effective then, you probably have lessened your effective training time.
“Didn’t you say you avg’d ~12 min/miles on the run at the 101? Do you attribute that to PCs as well?”
Yes, because a year ago I’d have DNFed. I’ve had a lot of trouble running for close to fifteen years. Mostly repercussions from a motorcycle accident. Over the last few years I’ve addressed several of my challenges with an excellent PT. Last year I took the two final steps. First, I had knee surgery in October and second, I started training with PCs to rehab/re-educate my left leg, which was not contributing much power on the bike. So PCs have allowed me to get additional training that is specific to the run without going crazy on run mileage.
Additionally, even when I was running well years ago, I’ve always sucked on hills. Clearlake 101 had the most hideous and punishing run course I’ve ever seen (that wasn’t trails). The constant up or down hill running at fairly steep gradients was murder on the quads and knees. I ran reasonably well (for me) for the first few miles, until the hills killed me. I also pushed a little too hard on the bike (well maybe a lot too hard) partly because I felt so strong and partly because I had seen the run course and knew it was going to suck. I probably could have finished faster by saving more for the run, but I wanted to be fast somewhere on the day, so I chose the bike!
So yeah, I give much of the credit to Frank and his crazy cranks!!
“I want someone to point to me ANY reason (other than the cost) I shouldn’t train with a pair.”
Well isn’t that just fantastic reasoning. If we’re working off of that logic, I have some snake oil for you. And at $800/bottle, it’ll give you 40% more power and shave 1-2 min/mi off of your run time. It won’t hurt you, so it must be good. Right?
